By having the table next to the window in the kitchen it enables me to see and know when someone has arrived at the open house.

I need to come up with a good strategy for tying up this property while managing holding costs & risk (both the risk that market shifts drastically and the risk that I lose the seller)CONTEXT: I'm an investor in Bergen County, NJ - my direct mail turned up an owner who plans to move out of state at the end of the school year (she's a teacher retiring).

That will allow you to build up a network of contractors and suppliers that will enable to to address problems faster and more cost effectively.I would also recommend buying a home warranty program if you are planning to hold the property and make upgrades over time. 

What is preventing me from moving forward at the moment is the contractor part.For example. if the advice I receive is that in order to enable a good flip i would need to be very hands on and that contractors are hard to find , I would likely avoid a more aggressive project like a multi shell.I am looking to flip and hold the first property with the hopes of getting an attractive entry point for cash flow.

Former is enticing because it will enable me to pay off one property and rental income will pay for the HELOC but then I still have HELOC on top of payment on a new home.   

I would argue that your duty as a human being at this time is to the children there and not the mother, and if you allow the situation to go on you're enabling an obviously unfit mother.

No small freelancing tasks, but rather creating streams of income, solid business models, that can grow in the future.I am thinking of a marketing firm, developing apps, becoming a property manager, being a teacher on the weekends.Any feedback is great!

I have two options in front of me either to obtain a rehab loan, which will cost me $10k for six months ( points, fees, interest) or just finance the entire deal with my own money (cash).The rehab loan will enable me to obtain an additional property, so in six months i'll have two properties ( one with the loan, another with my cash)  but it'll cost me an extra $10k (on top of the regular down-payment which in any case i'll have to lay out) .

I love teachers!).

I'm going to be a teacher by next year in the SA area.